love

Holy Wednesday – Surprised by Love

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Luke 22:24 ESV

Earlier this year, I was surprised by a beautiful flower that suddenly appeared on a large rather ugly cactus, alongside the road where I sometimes walked. I discovered that, with just the right combination of rainfall and temperature, this awkward plant could put on a show with spectacular white blossoms covering its scarred and twisted trunk. On Holy Wednesday, an even greater surprise awaited the disciples. In the middle of an ugly argument, they were having about who was the greatest, and right after Jesus finished serving them the bread and the wine, Jesus got up from the tabIe, and went into a side room. I can almost imagine Jesus striking his forehead and crying out “Oy Vey! These disciples are making me crazy!”

We may chuckle at the absurdity of that scene, but that night, Jesus gave us a surprising example as He returned to the room with a basin and a towel and interrupted their argument by washing their feet. Shame and gratitude replaced pride and anger, as Christ surprised them with love. Then He left an unforgettable command for us to do the same. Though, we don’t do much foot washing in the 21st century, the kind of service that this humble task represents is all around us. As Easter approaches, we need to each ask God how He could use us to serve someone who is as awkward, twisted and scarred as that old cactus. You just might be amazed by the beauty of the flowers God can produce through them, given just the right amount of His mercy and a little bit of His surprising, foot-washing love.

 So He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-6 ESV

Wash Them Anyway

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment 
So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. John 13:4-5 NLT

“Anymore dirty dishes?” my wife often asks, rolling her eyes after closing the dishwasher, walking away from the sink, and then spotting my forgotten coffee cup in the office. Her tone tells me, that she doesn’t mind so much doing the dishes as she just wishes they could be finally done for the night! That is a bit like the washing of feet was for people in Jesus’ day. While the other three gospels detail the institution of communion at the Last Supper, John gives us the story of what happened next. And while, depending on our faith community, we take communion once a day, once a week or even a month, washing feet, like washing the dishes is a something that is a constant chore. Think of the world of Jesus’ day, with horses, donkeys, and sheep wandering the city streets, and it doesn’t take much imagination to know what people’s feet looked and smelled like. Leaving their sandals at the door that night definitely helped, but the bare feet of the disciples certainly couldn’t have been squeaky clean. Maybe as they had come into the upper room that night, they wondered who should wash their feet. Luke’s gospel tells us that they argued over who was the most important, so it is easy to see why no one wanted to wash anyone’s feet. At the end of the meal, when Jesus disappeared into a side room for a moment, nobody noticed, until He suddenly appeared in the doorway, with a towel wrapped around his waist and a basin of water in his hands. Next, he knelt, and, one by one, began to wash their feet. The same men who had gladly received the bread that Jesus had broken and drank the cup He had blessed were shocked as Jesus humbly washed the grime from their feet and then dried them with a towel. After Jesus finished, he stood up and said,

“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.” John 13:14

Though our world is vastly different from theirs, feet still get dirty and washing them is still menial and seemingly pointless because feet just get dirty again! But Jesus tells us, “I did it so you can do it too!” When dirty feet show up at our doorstep, again and again, we may sigh, like my wife does at finding my forgotten coffee cups, but Jesus calls us to just go get a basin and towel and wash them anyway!

No Throw Away People

/ pastorpete51 / 11 Comments

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 ESV

“They’re a bunch of rapists, murderers and drug dealers. Filthy animals! Let’s lock ’em up and throw away the key!” When we read accounts of the recent deportation of gang members to a prison in El Salvador, if we are honest, we might have to admit that we have used these kinds of words. Does our heart secretly do a little dance each time we hear of another one being thrown in the clink, deported or shot by the police? I struggle with these very thoughts myself, but the Holy Spirit reminded me recently that God created each one of those young men and women in His own image. He breathed the same breath of life into their lungs, knit them together in their mothers’ wombs, and planned a home in heaven for them, just as He has done for me. Though they may have covered themselves with tattoos, and have lived a lifestyle contrary to God’s will, it in no way means that they have no value to Him. When Jesus looks down from heaven over them, He doesn’t say, “Well I told them so! Now they’ve finally gotten what they deserved!”

Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.com

In fact, in the Bible we can find a list of men and women, a lot like them. “Yeah, like who?” you might ask with a gasp. Well, we could start with a murderous guy named Saul, who tells us that he was the chief ringleader of sinners. Then there was the working stiff named Peter. He fell to his knees in shame when Jesus blessed him with a boatload of fish, shouting, “Go away from here, I am a sinful man!” We also mustn’t forget the unfaithful woman caught in bed with her neighbor, the corrupt tax collector named Zaccheus and the brutal executioner standing at the foot of the cross, waiting for Jesus to die so he could go home for the night. None of these folks sounds like the type of company we hope to have sitting next to us in church on Sunday, but Jesus does! No, He didn’t join them in their sins, but He loved them with a radical love, that drove Him to the cross, accepted nails to be driven through His hands and feet, and allowed Himself to be stripped, crowned with thorns and spit on. His kind of love reached the thief dying next to Him, forgave those who killed him and even allowed Judas to kiss Him. The God who loved the world so much that He gave His only Son to die for us, came for sinners, because there were no other kinds of people. We all deserve to be locked away in the dark place of eternal punishment named hell and have the key thrown away forever. But instead of throwing us away, Jesus took our place and gave eternal life to everyone who repents and believes in Him: no exceptions! Now He commands (not suggests) that we offer that same love and forgiveness to others, because there are no, “Throw away people.” and no one so far away, that they cannot return to Him!